10 canonical passages across 7 cases, quoted by 245 opinions in total. These passages cluster together because the same opinions keep quoting them side by side — they state parts of one doctrine. The anchor passage is from Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council.
| # | Case | Flag | Canonical passage | Citers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council Anchor | green | “stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of congress.” | 44 |
| 2 | Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council | green | “a fundamental principle of the constitution is that congress has the power to preempt state law.” | 42 |
| 3 | English v. General Electric Co. | green | “stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of congress.” | 41 |
| 4 | Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr | green | “the purpose of congress is the ultimate touchstone in every pre-emption case.” | 25 |
| 5 | Ingersoll-Rand Co. v. McClendon | green | “to discern congress' intent we examine the explicit statutory language and the structure and purpose of the statute.” | 22 |
| 6 | Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc. | green | “the case for federal pre-emption is particularly weak where congress has indicated its awareness of the operation of state law in a field of federal interest, and has nonetheless decided to stand by both concepts and to tolerate whatever tension there is between them.” | 20 |
| 7 | Bates v. Dow Agrosciences LLC | green | “accept the reading that disfavors pre-emption.” | 20 |
| 8 | English v. General Electric Co. | green | “first, congress can define explicitly the extent to which its enactments pre-empt state law.” | 10 |
| 9 | Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v. Walsh, Acting Commissioner, Maine Department of Human Services | green | “obstacle pre-emption turns on whether the goals of the federal statute are frustrated by the effect of the state law.” | 6 |
A red or yellow flag on a member means the underlying case has negative treatment — for those, check the case page before relying on the passage.